


It's Mutual

by Janie_17



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Harry Styles, Captain Niall Horan, Louis is touch starved, Louis loves to curse, M/M, Niall really saves the day, Omega Louis Tomlinson, a/b/o dynamics, they are both idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23547025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janie_17/pseuds/Janie_17
Summary: “I’m in love with Harry,” Louis said firmly, hands on his hips.“Great. Why are you telling me, exactly?” Niall barely lifted his head from the cereal bowl in front of him. Louis felt his own features twist in frustration.“Because! You asked me for a good reason why he can’t come to your party.”“Hmm,” Hummed Niall in response. “I think that’s more of a reason he should come, don’t you?” Grinning he pushed back the chair and walked his bowl over to the sink. “Just chill out about it and maybe it’ll even work in your favor. Besides, it’s our party.”*Title Courtesy of Hazzlou_28, thanks for the suggestion! Honorable mention goes to Gems! Thanks so much guys!
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 203





	It's Mutual

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hazzlouu_28](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Hazzlouu_28).



> Just some bullshit I typed up in a fit of insomnia. Please enjoy!

“I’m in love with Harry,” Louis said firmly, hands on his hips. 

“Great. Why are you telling me, exactly?” Niall barely lifted his head from the cereal bowl in front of him. Louis felt his own features twist in frustration. 

“Because! You asked me for a good reason why he can’t come to your party.” 

“Hmm,” Hummed Niall in response. “I think that’s more of a reason he  _ should _ come, don’t you?” Grinning he pushed back the chair and walked his bowl over to the sink. “Just chill out about it and maybe it’ll even work in your favor. Besides, it’s  _ our _ party.” 

Louis grumbled under his breath.  _ Fucking ‘our’ party. _ “And what if instead of working in my favor, I get drunk and blabber about it and the whole party laughs at me? Again.” 

“Don’t get drunk? I don’t really know what else to tell you, bud. He’s already confirmed. Check the group chat if you don’t believe me.” Niall shrugged. “Look, I’m going to work. Have a good day and get a hug from Liam or something, you need to calm down.” 

“Check the fucking group chat,” Louis said with a roll of his eyes as the front door closed. As if he hadn’t spent the last twelve hours staring at the series of texts in his phone. He screeched as the object in question vibrated in his hand to signal an incoming message. Maybe he did need to calm down. He hadn’t been in an alpha’s presence one-on-one in too long and probably needed something more akin to a nice long cuddle to be back at 100%, but a hug would certainly help. Glancing down at his phone with half a mind to message Liam, he realized that the text that had come in was no other than Harry himself. Fucking Harry with his giant hands, sexy open shirts, and the newish haircut that made him look both older and younger at the same time that Louis still hadn’t gotten used to. Fuck him and his gorgeous scent. 

Apparently Harry couldn’t ask Niall, who had planned the damn thing, if he needed to bring anything tomorrow. No. He had to ask Louis Tomlinson. “Shit,” he muttered, checking the cupboards. They hadn’t gone shopping yet, which meant it was down to him to do. He told the other man that he would be going shopping that day since he was working from home and he’d let him know. That seemed to satisfy the alpha, as he sent back a quick, “Sounds good” with a thumbs-up emoji. Louis then grabbed his coffee cup, headed back to his desk, and got to work for the day. 

He’d been granted 80% work from home status when he’d been promoted two summers ago. He now worked writing a love and romance column, a-la  _ Sex and the City _ meets  _ Queer Eye for the Straight Guy _ , for the local trash paper. Most of the pieces were fictionalized accounts of the exploits of his friends or advice from the author. But, to his shame, hopeless yearnings for a certain 24-year-old alpha known to all of his readership as Curly, graced his column more than he’d like to admit. Anyone who knew Louis could probably see the obvious likeness to Harry, but if they did they didn’t often say it to his face. Except for Liam who was happy to give Louis the affection he needed to stay sane, but was much happier to give Louis relationship advice that he didn’t want, nor feel that he--as an expert!--needed. 

It wasn’t like Harry would ever like him back, so what did it matter? He was a rowdy, often crude, loudmouth, as he’d been routinely told. And Harry was the quiet type who certainly wouldn’t want an omega he couldn’t control. At least, that’s what Louis thought. Come to think of it, he had never seen Harry date an omega at all, only betas. And that was on the rare occasion he went out in the first place. Honestly, Louis didn’t understand how such a handsome alpha wasn’t bonded in the first place, but it wasn’t his place to ask as an omega, no matter how loud he could be from time to time. 

By lunchtime, Louis had finished the edits on Monday’s article and sent them off to be approved. He made himself a quick sandwich to eat before it was time to go to the grocery store for snacks and mixers. It was a short walk, but his head felt cloudy by the time he entered the store and he wondered if he was getting sick. He hurried in grabbing the items he needed, hesitating in the beer aisle to look at the craft options for himself while putting a case of shitty light beers into the cart for the rest of the party to drink. 

“Hey! Louis!” He heard a deep voice call from nearby. He spun fast enough to give himself a case of vertigo. 

“Christ,” he muttered, holding his head. Cracking his eyes back open, he found Harry’s worried face leaning in close to his own. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, just a little dizzy. Haven’t eaten enough today, I guess. What’s up, Harry?” He took a small step backward, trying to get far enough back not to smell the other man quite as strongly. The usually pleasant scent wasn’t helping his cloudy head. 

“Uh, Lou, I don’t mean to be rude but, uh, you don’t smell like normal.” The concern on his face was palpable. 

He scowled in response. “How do you mean?” 

“Come on,” Harry said with a sigh. “Let’s check out and I’ll walk you home.” 

Louis tried to object as Harry gently pulled the cart from his grasp, placing his own basket inside it. He was silenced by a large hand on the small of his back, leading him towards the self check-out. It wasn’t often he allowed himself to be lead, but his head was hurting and his omega was telling him Harry could make it stop. At the check-out, as Louis went to pay for his items, Harry kept scanning and insisted he had the whole thing. His voice was soft but firm. It wasn’t quite his alpha voice, but Louis didn’t dare argue anyways. He’d never heard Harry speak to him that way before, but he thought that if he’d been feeling better, he’s pretty sure he’d enjoy it. 

The walk home was unremarkable except for the amount of groceries Harry could apparently carry. Louis felt useless, and complained about as much, with the single reuseable bag filled with a few kinds of chips in his hands. Harry shrugged at his complaints even as Louis insisted he was feeling better. As they got into the apartment and set the bags down, Harry rounded on him, using that same soft voice again. 

“When was the last time you and Liam hung out?” 

“What?” 

“Louis? Just the two of you?” 

He thought for a moment. “Oh, uh, like two weeks. Maybe a little longer.” 

“Why didn’t you call him? Or me even!” 

“I don’t know what you mean, Harry. I just need to have some water and a nap. I’m fine.” 

Harry groaned, voice rising slightly. “You nearly passed out from touch deprivation. I wouldn’t call you fine.” 

It felt as if Louis had been slapped in the face. He took a hard seat at the kitchen table. The symptoms certainly added up, but surely it couldn’t be. “We only meet once every month for that kind of thing. I top up on hugs and it gets me through fine,” he said in disbelief. 

“Did you not pay attention in health class in high school? Because it only takes two weeks for symptoms to present,” Harry said with a sigh. “You’re really lucky you haven’t gotten sick in public before. If you passed out you could get hurt. Or worse.” Louis fish-mouthed. What he was hearing made sense on a basic level but it was hard to believe. Before he could respond, he was being shooed towards his bedroom. “Go lie down and I’m going to call Liam. I can’t believe you two were so irresponsible.” 

Louis laid down, relieved as he was actually pretty tired. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when he felt a body climb into bed with him. “Hi, Lima Bean,” he said, turning over to put his face in Liam’s chest. He was surprised to be met by the sight of sparrows through a thin white tee shirt. “Hazza? Where’s Li? Why are you in my bed?” 

“Liam is still at work so I said I’d stay with you tonight. Now go to sleep.” Harry ran his fingers through Louis’ fringe. “You’ll feel better in the morning.” Louis took in his strong, calming scent and snuggled in. He was asleep in moments.

A few hours later, Louis woke with a chill to find the bed was empty except for him. He was about to go in search of his bedmate when he heard voices in the living room. It sounded as if Harry and Niall were arguing in hushed tones, but he couldn’t make out all of it. Suddenly they were outside the cracked door and he heard Niall clearly say, “You need to tell him.”  _ Tell me what? _ He wondered. And why was Harry disagreeing? “Tomorrow,” the pair was agreeing. They would tell him tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day of the party, Louis thought as he fell back asleep. 

The next time Louis woke the bed was once again empty and he was feeling remarkably better. It was the best night’s sleep he’d had in probably years AND someone was making bacon. Pulling on a pair of sweats and a shirt he pattered out to the kitchen to find Niall at the table chatting away while Harry cooked. Harry was ridiculously dressed in a pair of Louis’ sweatpants and one of his old shirts. Both of which were too small for the alpha. 

“Good morning,” Niall singsonged at him. “I hear you gave us quite the scare yesterday, LouBear.” Harry snickered, repeating the nickname under his breath. “How ya feeling?” 

Louis rolled his eyes. “Good, actually. Yeah.” He took a seat at the table. “When did we buy real food?” he asked, glancing towards Harry who, even in his too-small clothes, looked ridiculously handsome with his unkempt morning hair. 

“I, erm, didn’t have time to take it back to my place yesterday. And I know how Niall loves to be cooked for,” Harry replied with a shrug. “Plus, you could use the calories. Especially since Niall won’t cancel the party to give you some more time to rest.” 

“Oh. Um, yeah. Thank you.” Louis fiddled awkwardly with the napkin in front of him for a moment. As the food was plated and handed out, Niall stood awkwardly. 

“I’m gonna eat in my room! Thanks for the food, Harry. Louis.” The omega looked after him with wide, pleading eyes, unsure how to keep the conversation going without him. 

The pair sat in awkward silence as they chewed for a few minutes. 

“So,” Harry started. He was interrupted as Louis talked over him. 

“What were you and Niall talking about last night?” He half-shouted, awkwardly. 

The alpha blushed. “Nothing.” Louis raised a pointed eyebrow. “What did you hear, exactly?” 

“Not much.” He heard the sigh of relief as the other man stood up. “I did hear you say you didn’t want to tell me something, but that you would today.” Harry froze. 

“Shit, uh. Any chance we can talk about this later? Maybe after having a drink or two?” He wrung his hands together, nervously. 

Louis nodded. “Sure. I mean, yeah. That’s fine, I guess.” He was baffled by what could be so serious that Harry would need to have a drink first to even say it, but didn’t want to further upset him so he didn’t press the issue. “I’ll see you tonight then. I’m gonna go shower. Thanks for breakfast.” 

The party came about sooner than Louis was prepared for. He was dreading whatever Harry was going to say to him, and had thus gotten no writing done before it was time to set up. As people flowed in through the door he locked himself in his room. “This is stupid,” he muttered. “I should be out there having a good time and I’m locked away in here without even knowing what he’s going to say.” Louis sighed. Shotgunning the can of beer in his hand, he called upon all the courage in his body, checked his hair, and went into the living room. 

Harry had apparently gotten there while he was hiding, as he found the alpha scowling over a beer in the corner. He was drawn to him. Like every time they were near each other. He grabbed another beer for himself as he walked toward him, forcing himself to keep from chugging this one too. 

Harry smiled at him. “You look good.” 

Louis couldn’t help but grin in response. “Thanks. You too.” He didn’t quite understand the face Harry made in return but shook it off. “Thanks again for yesterday, too. That was really nice of you.” 

“It was no big deal.” 

Louis scoffed. “You spent like half the day and all night with me just so I wouldn’t feel sick. That’s not nothing. Not to me.” 

“It’s warm in here,” Harry said suddenly. “Let’s go on the balcony.” When they got there Shawn and Niall were making out, but made a, in Louis’ opinion, weirdly big deal out of giving the two of them the room. Harry’s big hands wrapped around the thin wrought iron railing behind him as Louis leaned against the fire escape. Louis shivered against the metal, chill from the night air. Harry stripped off his jacket and handed it to him. Which, while very kind, wasn’t something Harry had done before in all the times they’d been together while he was cold, which made it just another weird occurrence for the day. Louis shrugged it on gratefully, pushing the sleeves up so his hands were free. 

“Thanks,” he murmured softly. Harry looked amazing in the dim light of the street lamps. His soft curls delicately framing his face in a way that made Louis absolutely melt inside. 

“What is--” 

“Can I--” 

The pair both broke off, laughing. Louis gestured for Harry to continue talking. 

“Can I,” he swallowed hard, “can I just say something really frank and have you promise not to freak out?” 

Louis nodded. “I’ll do my best.” His nose flooded with Harry’s scent as the alpha stepped forward. It felt stronger than usual and he couldn’t help the reaction his body had to it, slicking slightly. He prayed the other man didn’t notice or blamed it on the alcohol if he did. 

“I really want you, Louis. I want you to be mine. I have for the longest time. I love you.” Harry’s voice trembled at the end of his confession. He looked at Louis with expectancy. 

Louis eyebrows furrowed. “This is a joke. Who put you up to this? Was it Niall?” 

“What? No! This is honestly how I feel, Lou. Why would that be a joke?” 

The air left Louis’ lungs with his sudden understanding. “Oh,” he breathed out. “Okay.” He was dazed from the shock, unable to form any other answer and Harry was torn between hurt and concern. 

“Are you all right?” Harry finally asked, concern winning out. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I know we’re friends. But I just hoped that maybe, there was some small chance that Niall was right and you could feel the same.” 

“Oh, Harry,” Louis sighed, “I can’t believe we’re both so stupid.” He lay a hand upon the alpha’s quizzical face. “I’ve loved you since the very moment I laid eyes on you. My fucking column is about you! Everyone knows it. Probably half of New York City by this point.” 

Harry’s face split into a grin. Pulling Louis closer by the waist, he crashed their mouths together. It was an awful mix of teeth and tongue and tasted like cheap beer, but it was also magical. It was everything either of them had hoped for. And as they broke apart as a cheer went up in the living room. It appeared that Niall had purposely forgotten to close the door all the way, allowing their conversation to be overheard by their entire friend group. Neither even had the ability to be annoyed, so much of their focus unable to be torn from one another. 

“Bedroom?” Louis asked, voice low. 

“Bedroom.” Harry nearly growled back. He grabbed the omega’s hand, pulling him through the small crowd of people and locking the door behind them. 

Louis was hardly able to believe it was happening. The pair had a lot of talking to do, but certainly, that could wait. Tonight would be for the more immediate concern. 

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a kudo or a review. Hope you liked it!


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